The first in a series of broadcasted episodes with the Hidden Histories of San Jose Japantown and the Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj).

Did you know that there was a Chinese church on North Fifth Street, where Kubota’s parking lot currently sits in San Jose Japantown? Originally established in 1890 in a building by the Seventh Street railroad tracks, the Chinese Methodist Episcopal Church moved to 655 Sixth Street before ending up in a large house at 591 […]

Over 90 years before the Gordon Biersch Brewing Company moved near San Jose Japantown, the Toyo Sake Brewery Co. bottled and distributed rice wine throughout California. The Volstead Act pf 1919 ushered in Prohibition and put an end to all alcohol production. Owner Kunizo Iida closed his sake brewery. Or, did he? Longtime Japantown resident […]

What was the most popular restaurant in early San Jose Japantown? Did the Issei* and Nisei** patronize a local sushi bar or bento box cafe? No, the most popular eatery for the Japanese was the Chinese food at Ken Ying Low Restaurant on North Sixth Street. During the first half of the 20th century, everyone […]

Did any Japanese American see San Jose Japantown during World War II? Moffet Ishikawa remembers visiting San Jose Japantown at a time when the Japanese were confined in Internment camps. Moffet was one of only three Japanese Americans known to have visited San Jose Japantown during World War II. The others were Hideo Nakamura and […]

The late Eiichi Sakauye, co-founder of the Japanese American Museum of San Jose, remembers the 1917 Japantown of his childhood. He describes a few of the businesses and also the first wave of the Flu Pandemic. (Yes, over a hundred years ago, Eiichi had to wear a mask when coming into town.) Eiichi’s interview was […]

Eugene “Pinky” Reintar and Robert Ragsac talk about the Filipino boarding house and the Dimas-Alang Hall that were next to the Filipino Community building and Ken Ying Low Restaurant in San Jose Japantown during the 1930s – 1960s.

Dr. Tokio Ishikawa’s 25-minute slide show tour of San Jose Japantown, created for the Centennial Celebration in 1990. The presentation was recorded and produced in April 1990 by Curt Fukuda. The slide show was updated in 2020 by Curt for this video as part of the Hidden Histories of San Jose Japantown project.

Gordon Smith, Vice-President and Head Docent of the Japanese American Museum of San Jose, talks about his involvement with JAMsj.

Hidden Histories Panel Advisor Steve Fugita talks about San Jose Japantown as a sanctuary. Besides its basic historical reference to a place that served as a sanctuary for our communities, it has an even more poignant meaning for us today. Many Asian Americans are facing the additional worry of racist verbal and physical attacks on […]